Action Heroes
= Action Heroes (Machinima series) = The 'Action Heroes' is a Halo 3 comedy machinima created by Lazy Lizard Entertainment. History A trailer for the series was first presented on Machinima.com and Youtube in March, 2008. Despite a quite promising response, the series itself has, so far, recieved very little notice. After the release of "Episode 1: We Could Be Superheroes!" on Youtube.com, the episode was pulled by the creators due to a lack of satisfaction with the finished product and the public response. Several months later, a new, revamped first episode was released, entitled "Free Stuff!". However, a few weeks after it's debut on Youtube.com, this episode too was pulled by the creators, who wanted to take the series back to the drawing board. Currently, a few things about this episode are being fixed and it is expected to air again early 2009, alongside Episode 2. Premise 'The Action Heroes' is set in a universe not very easy to describe. At times it appears it is set in the Halo universe itself, featuring characters such as 'Master Chief', but then at other times it seems to incorporate the real world into itself also, mentioning the Bungie Corporation and Microsoft at various moments. However, it is most likely the series is meant to be in the Xbox LIVE universe, things such as LIVE news broadcasts popping up now and again, as well as the currency being 'Microsoft Points'. Storyline The series follows the misadventures of a group of friends who manage to stumble upon a cache of high-tech military equipment and get it into their heads that, with this technology, they can live out the lives of the heroes they see in the movies and become superheroes themselves. As you might guess, nothing goes to plan and these "Action Heroes" find themselves in various tricky situations! Episodes So far, only the trailer has been released. A feature-length (36 minute) first episode was released on Youtube.com in five parts, but was pulled. A new and improved first episode aired several months later, but was also pulled to allow the creators some time to plan the series better. A slightly tweaked variation of this 'new' first episode is set to air sometime in the coming months, alongside a second episode. Ep.1 - "Free Stuff" Aired in September 2008. CURRENTLY OFF AIR FOR REVISION PURPOSES. Instead of beginning with the story of the Action Heroes themselves, this episode explores the events that saw the UNSC ship (that brought the title characters their military equipment) crash land in Sandtrap. It is set on Valhalla in Outpost 17-C, where on ongoing battle between UNSC and Covenant forces is underway. The UNSC forces are led by the argumental and exasperated Sergeant Rick Bilbur and his bumbling empty-headed Private, Joe Jenkins. The UNSC forces are displayed as being quite cowardly and idiotic, while the Covenant are shown as the better and more powerful side, yet slightly bored with the opposition. This boredom, combined with the UNSC's fear of confrontation, has led to a very drawn out battle spanning several days. Sergeant Bilbur, after attempting to acquire reinforcements and after sending several men to their deaths, realises that a UNSC Dropship full of supplies is inbound on their position, a factor which could see them turn the tables on the Covenant. However, after calling Command to check the ship's status, he is is informed the ship was struck by a stray missile and has gone wildly off course. The episode ends with a scene of Ciaran and Daire standing in front of the ships wreckage on Sandtrap. This episode was set to do something that the original pilot episode didn't; to show the viewers that the universe within the series expands outside of the experiences of the titular characters, and also to present viewers with the backstory to the ship that brought the protagonists their equipment (as oppossed to just having the ship randomly fall out of the sky). Future Episodes The creators have a whole four seasons planned. However, whether or not these 'future episodes' will see the light of day is another story, as the creators have found it difficult to maintain a steady stream of new episodes on a regular basis. Nevertheless, there are plans for around forty-sixty episodes. Characters Characters as they are and as they are set to appear. Ciaran voiced by Guitar-playin-Monkey. Ciaran is a member of the Action Heroes. He and Daire were the first ones to stumble across the crashed spaceship, which happened to land in his frontyard (making the ship and it's cargo his property, in his own opinion). His original set of armour was a Blue Mark XI. After exploring the contents of the ship's crago, his typical armour set is now a Blue Hayabusa. He is usually the mutual faction within the group, always trying to wriggle out of existant disputes and to avoid causing them in the first place. He is the one responsible for Stuart's loss of intelligence (he shot him in the head upon first meeting him, mistaking him for an alien) and is the reason Stuart follows him and Daire around (Stuart was set to guard the Hayabusa armour. In wearing it, Ciaran has ensured that Stuart never leaves their company). Daire voiced by Sherwinatrix (Sherbobs) Daire is also a member of the Action Heroes. He is a technical genius, always interested in machinery and weaponry and the like. However, he is just too lazy to make a proper commitment to any of his projects. Instead, he prefers to curl up in front of the TV set with a mug of steaming hot tea and watch re-runs of Family Guy. Daire's original set of armour was a red CQB, but his new armour is a silver and blue ODST style. Stuart voiced by Stuardoretardo Stuart is, quite simply, the 'Caboose' of the Action Heroes. However, it's surprising to realise that, underneath Stuart's somewhat 'idiotic persona', there is actually an intelligent and well educated young man. Sadly for everyone he meets, he doesn't usually present this part of himself very often. It was Stuart's idea to form the Action Heroes in the first place, and it was he who managed to convince Ciaran and Daire that his idea was a good one. Stuart is a professional liar and is more than capable of spreading insulting and embarassing rumours about people (usually Ciaran). He is highly addicted to chocolate products (it is said he goes through 3 litres of chocolate milk a day) and also has a habit of calling Daire short, despite the three of them all being the same height in the machinima series itself. However, Stuart is the most innocent and care free member of the Action Heroes. A typical evening for him is playing the Nintendo Wii and spending ten hours straight at 'Super Smash Bros. Brawl', before sitting down to watch his favourite episode of Spongebob Squarepants. It's hard not to like Stuart. As an angry and disgruntled Ciaran once said, "You love to hate him, but you hate not having him there to hate." Ronan voiced by Ronan3000 A close friend of the Action Heroes, Ronan is also a resident of Sandtrap. He is the eldest of all the main characters, yet doesn't like to act it. For a time he shared a flat with Owen, but apparently moved out when Tom 'changed house'. He is a car expert and very open minded, as well as prone to random air guitar solo's and heavy metal outbursts. He is one of the few people who Stuart can't totally freak out and scare away, which has earned him great admiration and respect from his friends. He has, also, an addiction to getting 'Achievements'. He dreams of being a Lambrogini test driver, yet recently those dreams have been eclipsed by thoughts of sailing the seven seas. In the past while, Ronan has begun acting like a pirate (a change brought around from first laying eyes on the Elephant; his'pirate ship'). Nobody knows what really started this, but it's believed that Ronan's movie bank consists solely of 'The Pirates of the Caribbean Trilogy'. Despite this random change in character, none of the other characters (other than the Action Heroes themselves) have drawn attention to it. As Tom casually remarks, "You get used to it". Owen voiced by xxXRegzXxx Ronan's old roommate, and again a friend of the Action Heroes, Owen is a tricky character to understand. Most of the time he is able to hold a civil tongue, yet there are random moments when he lets loose a disturbing, or otherwise irrelevent comment. To Owen, random comments are a way of life, and make an appearance in almost every conversation he becomes part of. He is also likely to add "That's what she said last night!" or a 'Mom' joke at the end of a sentence (a great frustration to his friends). Despite the oddities of the people he hangs around with, Owen always sticks by them, which has earned him a level of respect. Owen is a hardcore gamer, especially at Halo 3. He considers any comment in terms of 'the result of a slayer' or 'one's level of achievements' as a challenge, and this challenge usually results in the death of the opposition. In episode 2, Owen signs up for 'ninja school', and does not reappear for a time. Owen is, like Ronan, also a dedicated fan of rock and heavy metal music, but it is unknown what character changes he will have experienced by the end of his first term at 'ninja school'. Tom voiced by Charlie&theCheese Originally an intelligent and very well off (owning a house equivalent to a mansion) person, following the crash of the Covenant Cruiser in Sandtrap, Tom's wealth, house (and also his high standard of intelligence) have left him. After being 'hit on the noggin' by the Cruiser when it crash landed on his house, Tom became subject to a bout of spontanious retardation, or as the others call it 'Stuart Syndrome'. He has since recovered, but it is unknown as of yet whether there are any side effects. Probably the most easy going and friendliest person resident in Sandtrap, Tom is always happy to follow his friends on their many little adventures. He fits in everywhere, which has given him acceptance and friendship among the other people living in Sandtrap. After his house was destroyed, Tom became certain that Owen and Ronan had a part in it's demolition (remembering nothing of the crash). Owen has sinced managed to convince him that he lives under a rock, and it's yet to be seen how this will play out. Trivia · The series is supposed to be a machinima representation of the live's of the cast, only with the three Action Heroes in question being 'superheroes'. · One day during episode planning, Stuart said that the Action Heroes should fight an army of mexican robots. When Ciaran and Daire said that 'Red vs. Blue' had done something similar, Stuart revealed he had never watched 'Red vs. Blue' at that point. · Stuart, in real life, has, like Caboose, a supposed hatred of babies. When questioned further, Stuart argued he didn't hate babies, only small things (which included babies). · In the first episode, Stuart's old armour is green and orange, representing that he comes from South Africa. · All of the main characters are an extreme version of their real life counter-parts. · There is a band called 'The Action Heroes'. · The Action Heroes were actually founded three years ago, when Stuart began calling himself, Daire & Ciaran 'The Action Heroes'. It was only a year ago that Ciaran suggested they turn the concept into a machinima series. · Each episode features the Action Heroes watching a particular programme on TV. These programmes are usually skits on real-life popular programmes or popular machinima. · The Action Heroes have their own Theme song, which was performed and written by Ronan Colfer and his brother Stephen. Referrences http://www.youtube.com/guitarplayinmonkey Guitar-playin-Monkey's Youtube Profile